Community OR — Five Years of Organised Activities and Beyond

What has become known as Community Operational Research has been around in the UK for many years. The election of Jonathan Rosenhead as President of the UK OR Society in 1986–87 was the catalyst for bringing together and expanding activities which had been carried out largely by individuals working in isolation on a voluntary basis. The following five years have seen the establishment of the Community OR Unit at Northern College, the Centre for Community OR at Hull University and the Community OR Network, which supports the activities of volunteer OR workers across the UK. This paper reviews the range and types of work which have been undertaken by various practitioners. An assessment of the success of community OR is made and a number of issues which have arisen are discussed. Finally, given the diverse nature of community OR, its practice and practitioners, there is some discussion about the future of the area.     

Wanted: Dead OR Alive—Ways of Using Problem-structuring Methods in Community OR

Problem structuring has often been seen as providing an appropriate framework for Community OR; from our point of view the question to raise is not how to choose the best method for any particular situation, but how to act on opportunities to use different methods in practice, i.e. making the process the central focus. In this paper we examine our use of problem-structuring methods in the context provided by postmodernist poststructuralist ideas in some Community OR (COR) case studies. In particular this paper will:

• • scrutinise the notion of 'problem' and suggest that it might open a larger space for action and choice to recast this in terms of issues;

• • show the applicability of issue-structuring methods in combination with other participatory methods, e.g. rapid appraisal and action methods, especially in the context of evaluation, which most of our case studies will be concerned with;

• • illustrate the possibilities of mixing and matching different parts of different issue structuring methods in practice.

In this way we demonstrate some ways in which the practice of OR can be revitalised, in particular through a re-conceptualisation of the notion of 'praxis'.     

Development Options for a Rural Community in Belize — Alternative Development and Operational Research

This paper describes a project undertaken in Belize, Central America, to look at development options for a rural community. This paper begins by providing a background to Alternative Development, and OR'S relation to it. It outlines the methodology adopted in the project (Rapid Rural Appraisal) and provides a discussion on the use of this method in conjunction with problem structuring methods in the under-developed countries.     

乡村社区餐厨产品设计研究初探

随着中国城市化进程的加快,中国乡村社区经历着巨大的变迁。变迁中的乡村社区,人们的生活形态也发生了很大的变化。2008年实施的"家电下乡"政策,由于企业对乡村市场的长期忽视,导致现有一些产品未能完全满足乡村社区人们的生活需要。论文从变迁中的乡村社区入手,通过对乡村社区人们餐厨生活和现有餐厨设施、产品的调查分析,进行相关的设计研究,为乡村社区餐厨产品的设计提供理论依据,同时为企业开辟农村市场提供参考和借鉴。     

Education in OR/MS at a Glance: Results of the First IFORS Survey

An IFORS survey was prepared during 1990/1991 to obtain an international picture of the main features of the educational programs in the field of OR/MS. Seventeen countries sent information concerning a total of 176 programs and major conclusions are presented in this paper.     

Education in OR/MS at a Glance: Results of the First IFORS Survey

An IFORS survey was prepared during 1990/1991 to obtain an international picture of the main features of the educational programs in the field of OR/MS. Seventeen countries sent information concerning a total of 176 programs and major conclusions are presented in this paper.     

The Future IS Organization in a Flat World

The business world is becoming increasingly “flat” with regard to access to global markets and a global workforce. New operational priorities are emerging that require new IS capabilities. The linkage between these operational shifts and the changes required by an IS organization to develop new IS capabilities for a flattening world are identified and discussed.     

Variety is the spice of life: combining soft and hard OR/MS methods

Some observers have expressed concern over the state of the OR/MS profession, especially as to its failure to tackle complex, messy problems. One response has been to develop various soft methods (also called problem structuring methods) that focus on the human and political aspects of OR/MS interventions. Recent work, both theoretical and practitioner-based, involves the combination of several methods in a particular project (multimethod). Often the combination includes both hard (quantitative) and soft (qualitative) approaches. This paper illustrates the utility of soft methods, and in particular their combination, with recently published case studies. It then proposes an approach to the process of combining methods, including several frameworks and techniques to assist in selecting and linking different methods. Finally, it discusses future research in this field.     

The Hybrid World of Virtual Environments

Much of the work concerned with virtual environments has addressed the development of new rendering technologies or interaction techniques. As the technology matures and becomes adopted in a wider range of applications, there is, however, a need to better understand how this technology can be accommodated in software engineering practice. A particular challenge presented by virtual environments is the complexity of the interaction that is supported, and sometimes necessary, for a particular task. Methods such as finite-state automata which are used to represent and design dialogue components for more conventional interfaces, e.g. using direct manipulation within a desktop model, do not seem to capture adequately the style of interaction that is afforded by richer input devices and graphical models. In this paper, we suggest that virtual environments are, fundamentally, what are known as hybrid systems. Building on this insight, we demonstrate how techniques developed for modelling hybrid systems can be used to represent and understand virtual interaction in a way that can be used in the specification and design phases of software development, and which have the potential to support prototyping and analysis of virtual interfaces.     

面向对象技术中OR映射框架的研究与应用

在中小型应用系统开发中对象数据类型与关系数据库数据类型的转换成为面向对象技术开发中对象持久化问题的“瓶颈”。介绍了传统的对象持久化映射模型的架构,在此基础上设计实现了一种适合中小规模应用开发的OR(object/relational)映射框架,并在框架中应用合适的设计模式,大大方便了应用系统的维护和叠代开发。     

The strategic dimension of transactional information systems: some organizational implications

Abstract. Often information systems (IS) are classified in three groups: (a) transactional, used mainly for co-ordination and resource allocation purposes at the operational level of a company; (b) tactical, often employed to support the resource procurement activities typical of middle management; and (c) information systems for strategic decision making, designed to help in the planning and strategy design processes which are the direct responsibility of top management. In general, the amount of care and management attention that companies give to these different types of systems is proportional to their position in this hierarchy: little attention is devoted to the mundane transaction-pushing systems and exquisite care is put into developing the sophisticated decision making aid for the CEO and his/her staff.
The IS/IT literature has been reporting quite commonly cases in which companies have attained or lost great competitive advantages by way of their transactional information systems [for example, Emery Worldwide, Baxter Healthcare ASAP system, and Frontier Airlines]. The aim of this paper is to identify actions that companies can take to realize potential benefits of their IS, in particular from their low-level, transactional IS.
Among other actions, we will conclude that companies would be better off if they: (a) have the IS department at the right place in the organization, staffed with people knowledgeable about the basic nature of the business in which the company is engaged; (b) are sensible to what can be called 'strategic maintenance' of systems, (c) set up a formal procedure for IS planning to ensure coherence between IS plans and business plans, derived, in turn, from business strategy, and (d) keep abreast of the relevant technology.
Several examples taken from European companies are used to illustrate these conclusions.     

Impact of the New Global Environment on US National Security Planning — Challenges to the OR Community

Recent events have changed the world political/military environment from a relatively stable bi-polar one to one with much less regional stability. This paper will describe the impacts of this change on US national security planning. It summarizes the global and national security environment changes, corresponding changes in the analysis activity to support national security planning, some approaches used to conduct analyses in the new environment, and some emerging results.     

现代化小区综合布线方案设计

为适应信息化、网络化的发展,需要为现代化小区设计一套实用的综合布线方案。从方案确定、拓扑结构、详细设计等各方面阐述现代化小区结构化综合布线的设计过程,详细介绍了各个子系统包括工作区子系统、水平子系统、垂直子系统(建筑物主干子系统)、建筑群主干子系统、管理间子系统、设备间子系统等的设计原则,设计时需考虑的问题,使用的设备及应遵循的标准等。     

GA-DTPSO算法及其在混合极性XNOR/OR电路面积优化中应用

针对n变量Reed-Muller(RM)逻辑函数具有3n个混合极性,对应着3n个繁简不同展开式的问题,提出一种遗传算法——离散三值粒子群优化(GA-DTPSO)算法对电路面积进行优化.首先根据RM电路的XNOR/OR实现形式,建立混合极性XNOR/OR电路面积优化的数学模型和改进混合极性XNOR/OR电路极性转换方法;然后在遗传算法中引入粒子群算法的搜索机制,结合混合极性的特点提出GA-DTPSO算法;最后利用GA-DTPSO算法进行混合极性XNOR/OR电路面积最佳极性搜索,得到面积最优的XNOR/OR电路.通过对14个MCNC和ISCAS基准电路进行测试的结果表明,该算法能有效地提高混合极性XNOR/OR电路面积优化效果.     

虚拟社区模式的化学专业网站设计

设计开发了虚拟社区模式的化学网站－－“化学村”，它集成了目前Internet中许多方便实用的交流方式，并设计了一套基于Web的化学专业信息的在线录入方案。运行情况表明，它可以成为化学化工工作者进行专业化知识、学术、信息交流的平台。     

The Organizational Politics of the World Wide Web

Abstract

The internal conflicts within an organization may hinder the successful design and set-up of a World Wide Web site. This article looks at the three most common routes that an organization may take to get on the Web, and presents guidelines for how to overcome the organizational politics that get in the way.     

Causality in the alignment of information technology and business strategy

The need for a link between information technology (IT) use and organizational strategy has been identified and discussed for a number of years. The thrust of this work argues that the motives for investment in IT should derive from firm objectives and, more particularly, from the strategic plan which the organization wishes to pursue. This paper argues that, often, mere lip service is paid to the strategic nature of IT. Further, strategy justification has become a tool for securing investment in IT by circumventing established organizational policy on investments. Many IT investments labelled ‘strategic’ appear to be operational in nature. This paper discusses the nature and evaluation of strategy and relates it to the literature on IT as a strategic tool. The extent to which the relationship between IT and strategy has altered over recent years is subsequently investigated. The implementation process is investigated and evidence of IT investment activities and the returns available to investing organizations are reviewed. The paper argues that there are a number of alternative views on the IT-strategy relationship, some of which are organizationally detrimental.     

数字化小区信息发布系统设计与实现

利用CAN总线和C 技术,开发数字化小区信息发布系统,介绍了CAN现场总线通信系统的软硬件结构,论述了数据交换原理,探讨了设计中的几个重要问题和设计思想。基于CAN总线构建的数字化小区通信网络,实现了小区信息的动态管理,克服了以前电子广告牌形式的静态管理的缺陷,使得对信息的发布更加及时、高效,提高了工作效率。     

复杂网络强社团结构探测

社团结构是反映复杂网络整体性质的重要特征,本文从强社团结构定义出发提出简单启发式强社团结构探测算法,受启发因素为度-度负相关性和簇-度负相关性.利用该算法对空手道俱乐部成员关系网络和美国大学橄榄球队网络进行社团结构探测,验证了该算法能正确探测出网络的强社团结构.并将划分结果与传统划分进行比较分析,该算法未引入其它量化指标或中间变量,降低了计算复杂度,在采用方法上不同于单纯的分裂或聚合,有效地提高了探测速度,更适合大规模复杂网络社团结构探测.     

信息网格虚拟社区模型的全生命周

社区原理是解决网格开放、无序问题的一种方法。本文结合中科院计算所织女星信息网格计划的具体工作,研究了信息网格中社区的模型及全生命周期。